


What's In A Name

by jooliewrites



Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: (Like very minor - but a little bit so), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Minor Angst, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-13
Updated: 2014-11-13
Packaged: 2018-02-25 05:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2609825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jooliewrites/pseuds/jooliewrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seven years down the road, Connor pulls an invitation to Wes's wedding out of his mailbox addressed to: </p><p>Mr. Oliver Hampton and Mr. Connor Walsh</p><p>Why does seeing their names like that put Connor in such a bad mood?</p>
            </blockquote>





	What's In A Name

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone, 
> 
> Got a really weird invite to a wedding this week and this popped into my head.  
> Hope you enjoy.  
> -Jules xoxo

Connor opened the mailbox and rolled his eyes at the junk mail and flyers shoved in haphazardly; the box was practically bursting with the overflow. He and Oliver really needed to get better at remembering to check this thing more than once a week. He pulled out a handful of mail at random, leafing through and earmarking most of it as junk, when one thick, cream-colored envelope caught his eye. Flipping it over to double check the return address, Connor smiled to himself. That son of a bitch was really doing it. He turned the invitation back over to check the address.

_Mr. Oliver Hampton and Mr. Connor Walsh_

Connor ran a thumb over their names and mused that at least Wes knew how to address an invitation. His cousin had gotten married last year and hadn’t included Oliver’s name on the invitation Connor had received; he’d been invited as _Mr. Connor Walsh and guest_ as if seven years together meant nothing. Thinking about the entire incident now still made Connor’s blood boil but at least Wes and his fiancé were decent people and did things right.

Making his way back upstairs to their condo, Connor continued to peruse the invitation, waiting for the pleasant jolt he normally felt at getting mail addressed to the both of them. It was super cheesy of him, and something he would ever admit to, but Connor really enjoyed seeing both of their names together like that. He liked seeing the tangible evidence that he and Oliver were a unit. This time, however, Connor didn’t feel that happy sensation. Staring at their names, printed innocently enough on the heavy paper, Connor felt annoyed, almost angry even.

Upstairs at home, Connor tossed the invitation and the rest of the mail on the counter near where Oliver was playing with his tablet (the junk mail had been dumped in the recycling bin down the hall). “Guess who’s getting married?” Connor said, grabbing two beers out of the fridge and handing one to Oliver.

“Who?” Oliver grabbed the bottle to take a pull and picked through the pile to find the invitation. He tried to be subtle while turning the invitation over to check the names and Connor winced. He could kill his cousin for that. After confirming they were both there (as they should be), Oliver tore open the envelope and pulled out the invitation. “Well, would you look at that? I never thought they’d do it.” Oliver said with a sly grin. “I mean, they’ve been together nearly as long as—“

“Yep,” Connor quickly cut him off. They’d been together almost as long as Connor and Oliver had. And they were getting married. Last year Connor and Oliver had adopted a dog, which had felt like a much bigger deal at the time than it did right now.

Oliver sent him a look across the counter that Connor chose not to read into but let the interruption slide. “We free this weekend?” He asked, turning back to the invite. “The 28th?”

Connor pulled up their shared calendar on his phone. “Yeah. That thing with your sister is the next week.” Oliver hummed his acknowledgement and Connor added the wedding to the calendar. “Where is it? Should we book a room?”

“It’s here in town. I don’t think we need a room, unless you want?” Connor grunted a no and Oliver continued. “Chicken or beef?”

“What?” Connor asked in confusion. He had turned away to pull last night’s burgers out of the fridge to heat up for dinner. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw Oliver filling out the response card.

“For dinner at the wedding.” Oliver clarified without looking up “What do you want? Chicken or beef?” When Connor didn’t respond right away Oliver went on. “Well, there’s also vegetarian but we both know you aren’t picking that.” When he still didn’t get a response, Oliver looked up. “We are going, right?”

“Yes. Of course.” Of course they were going to Wes’ wedding. Wes was one of his oldest friends. They’d been through the trenches of law school and back. Of course Connor was going to his wedding. Why did he want to tell Ollie to RSVP no? Why did he suddenly have a sour taste in his mouth about the whole thing? “Beef. I’ll have the beef.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure. Beef.”

 

+

 

“There you are,” Oliver said, walking out onto the balcony where Connor had been hiding for the past fifteen minutes. The wedding had been lovely. The bride was stunning. Wes could not stop smiling. The family and friends attending were all so happy for the two newlyweds that it made Connor a little sick. He had escaped out to the balcony to get some fresh air and, hopefully, clear his head a little. The joyful celebration had worked him into a decidedly surly mood. “One of Wes’s aunts thought she saw my boyfriend sneak out here.”

“Well she was right.” Connor took another sip from his drink. There that word was again. _Boyfriend._ Normally it was a term that made him smile and gave a pleasant clutch in his gut but now it was grating on his nerves. Every time he or Oliver introduced themselves to someone it came up and every time he cringed inside. It made him feel like he was a teenager again and he and Oliver were going steady. “Here I am. You found me.”

“I did indeed.” Oliver stopped next to him and they stood next to each other in silence for a moment, taking in the Philadelphia night. “You want to talk about it?”

“About what?” Connor questioned, pretending he had no idea what Oliver was getting at.

“About how you’re pissed,” Oliver said and Connor gave him a bland look but didn’t disagree. “About how you didn’t want to sign the card and waited until the eleventh hour to get ready today.” Oliver paused and cleared his throat before almost whispering. “About how you keep flinching when I call you my boyfriend.”

“I’m not flinching,” Connor shot back; horrified that Oliver might think that he the reason for Connor’s weird behavior. None of this was Oliver’s fault. His mood was _his_ problem.

“You are. I can see you. You can’t hide it from me.” Oliver glanced over at him but Connor took another swallow from his drink and avoided Oliver’s gaze. “I know…” Oliver’s voice broke and he cleared his throat again. “I know this is not the place to talk about this but you’ve been off for weeks Connor. I don’t know if something is happening at work or…”

“It’s not work,” Connor interrupted. “Work’s fine.” Work wasn’t bothering him. It was this wedding that was bothering him. It had been getting this stupid invitation in the mail that started him down this rabbit hole. 

“Oh,” Oliver said, the hurt evident in his tone. “Okay. Then if it’s not work, it’s something at home then?” Connor didn’t respond and just let the question hang there for a moment. “Okay.” There was another uncomfortable pause before Oliver continued. “Did I do something or say something…?”

“No.” Connor rubbed a hand over his face. “No. It’s not you.” It could never be Oliver.

“Really, Con?” Oliver looked at him with disbelief. “Not to be conceited or anything but I’m the only other person at home. It has to be me.”

Connor shook his head at that. “This really isn’t the place for this,” he finally said in a resigned tone. Connor didn't want to attempt to explain whatever this mood of his was. It would pass in a little while. They just had to get through it.

“No, you’re right. Not the place.” They were silent again, each lost thought while starting up at the cloudless sky. “Look,” Oliver began. “I’ll head up early to my sister’s this weekend. Give you a day or two. You don’t have to come up. It will…”

“No,” Connor cut him off but Oliver continued talking over him.

“It will give us each some space. It might be good to get some distance.” Connor tried to interrupt again but Oliver just steamrolled over him. “I’m going to head home now. Catch a cab or something. You’ve got the keys right?”

“Ollie, don’t,” Oliver reached out and squeezed Connor’s hand in goodbye but pulled away when Connor reached up to hold it there. Oliver was walking away. He was walking away and Connor was fucking this up. He’d always known he was going to mess things up again. If Oliver kicked him out again this time, Connor didn’t know if he’d be able to survive it. The pain of it from last time had crippled him and they’d only been together a handful of weeks. This time they had seven years; this break would _ruin_ him. Connor watched the very best part of him walking away and couldn’t hold back the words anymore. “We never talk about getting married.”

“What?” At that Oliver turned back, his hand hovering over the doorknob.

“Marriage. You and me,” Connor said, gesturing to both of them. “We’ve never talk about it.” He ran a hand through his hair. Wes’s wedding reception really wasn’t the time for this conversation. “Why haven’t we ever talked about it, Ollie?”

“Well.” Oliver paused, considering. “Probably because it took us six years to adopt a dog.” He slowly made his way back over to Connor, hands in his pockets and his pace languid. “And we only got the dog because my sister was pregnant with Brenna and I asked if you ever wanted kids. You didn’t want to talk about it so the next week you dragged me to the pound.” Oliver stopped in front of Connor, too far away for either to reach out a hand. “Or maybe it’s because we only moved in together at first because your lease was up and you didn’t want to look for another apartment. Or because we only bought a place together because it turned out to be cheaper than renting and we got that amazing interest rate.”

“What’s your point?” None of those were reasons why they never talked about getting married.

“That _is_ my point, Connor.” When it was apparent Connor didn’t understand what he was getting at, Oliver tried another tact. “We don’t really talk about our relationship.”

“We talk about our relationship.” They did...right?

“Not really,” Oliver said but was quick to add. “And it’s okay. I don’t know if we necessarily need to all the time. If something comes up, we talk about it but other than that.” Oliver shrugged. “It’s us. It fits us. We’ve grown together naturally. We’re committed to each other. We’re comfortable. We appreciate each other. We’re happy.” When Connor was still silent, Oliver joked in an attempt to lighten the mood a little, “Well, at least _I’m_ happy.”

“I’m happy.” Connor muttered under his breath and Oliver smiled shyly.

“Good to hear.” Oliver went on after a beat. “After that first ‘we’re boyfriends and exclusive’ conversation all those years ago I just never felt the need to push it.”

Connor nodded but something about that bugged him. “What do you mean ‘push it’?’

“You know,” Oliver trailed off and ran a hand through his hair. “Just ‘push it.’” At Connor's blank look, Oliver went on. “After that conversation, you just always seemed so freaked out when things like commitment came up. I introduced you to a coworker as my boyfriend and you’d panic. I mentioned meeting my mom and you broke out in a cold sweat. I made noises about going away for a weekend together and you booked study groups for every Saturday of the semester. I knew we were together, are together, but I guess I just kind of got in the habit of not making a big deal about it.”

Connor nodded again, this time actually meaning it. He understood and he had been like that at first. Having never been in a committed, exclusive, adult relationship before, it had taken some adjustment for him to get used to being in a relationship. They had each needed to learn how to be together. But that was then. Connor didn’t need to adjust anymore. He wasn’t afraid anymore.

“What if I want to make a big deal about it?” Connor asked. Oliver broke into a smile so big Connor didn’t think he’d ever seen Ollie look so happy. He’d give anything to keep Ollie looking that happy.

“Well." Oliver took Connor’s hands in his. "We should go home and talk about it. This definitely isn’t the place for that conversation.”

 

+

 

Ten months later, Connor once again was pulling mail out of their overstuffed mailbox when the invitation to Laurel’s wedding arrived. Pulling out the elegant sage envelope, Connor smiled reading the address, twirling his new wedding band around his finger.

_Mr. & Mr. Connor and Oliver Hampton-Walsh_

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick note about the wording of the invitations. The first one lists Oliver's name first because (per the super official Google searches I did) names on invitations are 'supposed' to be listed in alphabetical order. Now since it's Wes's wedding and he is the one inviting Connor, I guess Connor could have been listed first but I didn't do that. The second one gives Connor's name first because C is before O. Apologies if this is some huge wedding invite faux pas, I am no Emily Post.
> 
>  
> 
> [tumblr](ramblesandreblogs.tumblr.com)


End file.
